The Murtuz Muhtarov mosque

The Murtuz Muhtarov mosque -with two minarets- located in the Amirjan village in the Surakhani district of Baku, in Azerbaijan. It was built in 1908. The construction of the mosque was financed by Baku millionaire Murtuz Mukhtarov, its design was by architect Ziver Bey Ahmedbekov. It was the residents of the Amirjan village who started constructing the mosque in 1901. However, due to financial difficulties the construction was suspended. The residents then turned for help to a millionaire oil tycoon, a native of the Amirjan village - Murtuza Mukhtarov. Mukhtarov expressed an interest in the mosque's construction and agreed to finance it. On the opening day a local cleric, Akhund Amirjan Abu Turab, climbed to the pulpit of the mosque from which he then read the khutba (a sermon). In Soviet times, the mosque was used as a weaving mill. From 1985 to 1988, an exhibition salon of Azerbaijan's national artist Sattar Bahlulzade was located in the mosque. In 1989 it was given over to the parishioners. The Murtuz Muhtarov mosque has two minarets, each 47 meters high. There are exactly 140 steps in each minaret. On the second floor of the mosque there used to be a separate room for women only. The mosque has two entrances, one dome and 16 windows. The doors and windows are decorated in shebeke style. The circle over the mihrab symbolises Allah, 4 vaults are symbolic of the prophets, 4 pillars symbolise the sacred books, and the fine lines underneath them - the 12 imams. Greetings by the prophets are written in Arabic on both the right and left side of the mosque. The man who financed the construction of the mosque - Murtuz Muhtarov himself- would pray in this mosque. His tomb is located in the mosque's courtyard. Today, the mosque is considered a cultural and historical monument of national importance.